Travel Adventures and Photography
I am beyond grateful for the opportunity to photograph this protected herd of American bison in Los Angeles, which you may be surprised to learn is open to the public. Though most of the bison in this particular herd are smaller than those in Yellowstone National Park, there is no doubt about their majestic stature. It was just nuts to have the largest of the herd stare at me from five feet away and then slowly walk right by Read More
"Visiting The Carlsbad Flower Fields early in the bloom season instead of at 'peak bloom' made for a far more memorable experience." Each year in Southern California I look forward to the fifty acres of ranunculus flowers reminiscent of the Land of Oz. In fact, the Carlsbad Flower Fields is home to one of the largest flower displays in the world drawing more than 160,000 visitors in their eight-week bloom season. Like many Read More
Flower fields are the stuff of my daydreams and so I seek them out almost everywhere I go. Wild or commercially grown, I don't discriminate. If you're like me you could be destined for Santa Barbara, California where the Lompoc valley has numerous privately-owned fields of flowers including Larkspur, Delphinium, Bells of Ireland, Queen Anne's Lace, Stock, and Sweet Peas. The bloom season is from April to the end of September Read More
Tales of fragrant citrus orchards have drawn me to citrus towns around the world such as Sorrento, Italy and Mallorca, Spain but it was in my home state of California that the city of Redlands delivered on the promise. Did you know that the city of Redlands was once the hub of the largest orange-producing region in the world with over 15,000 acres of citrus groves? Upon stepping out of my car in 'Early Redlands Historic Read More
Light and delicate, sweet pea flowers (Lathyrus odoratus) were discovered in the 17th century by Italian monk Father Francis Cupani who was traveling through the Sicilian countryside. Sweet pea flowers' pronounced yet delicate fragrance means that they are excellent for perfuming a room, and are often prettiest when placed in a simple mason jar. If you had any wonder of their scent, just think of honey sometimes with a dash of Read More
Palos Verdes in Los Angeles is home to a lesser-known botanic garden that is quite the hidden gem, especially in spring and summer. The 87-acre property with 2,500 species of plants from all over the world particularly excels in California native plants, many of which have colorful blooms year-round. The most notable highlights of a day at the South Coast Botanic Garden include: Small but stunning Dahlia Garden with an Read More
What an incredible display of California poppies at Walker Canyon in Lake Elsinore! I arrived early in the morning with only a few people in sight and the poppies mostly closed. Scattered patches of tiny blue and purple wildflowers found their home among the poppies, which really made it feel like I had stepped into a Monet painting. With the sun bearing down as I made my way up into the hills, the poppies began opening before Read More
In Lompoc, California just 50 miles from downtown Santa Barbara is the La Purisma Mission State Historic Park which spans nearly 2,000 acres. Standing on a small fraction of that property and almost a small city in itself, is the La Purisma Mission. It is the only existing example in California of a Spanish Catholic mission and is thereby known as a living history Read More
I practically grew up at Griffith Park in Los Angeles. I remember Earth Day celebrations in the park where I planted tree saplings with my Dad, walked the forest trails and became totally mesmerized by that giant swaying ball in the Griffith Observatory lobby. Seriously, I would watch it for hours trying to decide if it was swaying from the Earth's magnetic pull or rather some machine in the ceiling. While there is much to Read More
One of the best ways to soak up the scenery in Napa Valley is to have a picnic, and the best advice I can give you is to stock up at Oakville Grocery and head to one of the wineries mentioned below for some fantastic wine. Oops, did I say wine? Lunch, I meant lunch. Oakville Grocery originally opened in 1881 and is the oldest continually operating grocery store in California. I always find fantastic new things to try, and Read More
As the hot sun beat down, I sat on the top deck of an old diesel safari truck when a giraffe approached and stopped about two feet from my face. I lowered my camera to get a better look at him and, curious about my face, I felt his breath as he tried to get a good sniff of me. Surely he smelled the wine I had just tasted an hour earlier in Napa Valley. I’m at Safari West, an authentic African wildlife preserve in Santa Read More
Tucked away in Los Angeles is the dreamy 150-acre public botanical garden known as Descanso Gardens. Their famed Camellia collection is the largest in North America and the gardens are also home to the remainder of a magical oak tree forest that once consumed the entire region. This spring their Japanese Garden offered cherry trees in full bloom and a sprawling lilac garden with amazingly fragrant blooms. I thought you'd enjoy Read More
I recently visited the San Joaquin Valley in Central California (near Fresno) to photograph the hundreds of acres dedicated to fruit orchards known as "The Blossom Trail". Other than a small pack of adorable little 'watch dogs', the only company I had was the chirping birds and industrious bees. It was one of the prettiest mornings I can remember... the fragrance of honey in the air and flower petals covering the floor. Not to Read More
One of the great treats of a west coast road trip is the fantastic fruit stands. This one is my favorite and I can't wait to go back—that probably sounds crazy, but so be it. Their berries have such intense flavor and their shop is a welcoming break from the long drive. Located twenty miles south of Santa Cruz on the California coastal Highway 1 is the fully organic Swanton Berry Farm. They also have a second location just ten Read More
I recently visited the lotus flowers at Echo Park Lake in Los Angeles, a place I have happy memories of as a kid. For those of us who love flowers this is a bit of a dream come true, especially in such an accessible and non-exotic location. The flowers are so beautiful, it's a bit surreal. Hundreds of blooms in white, pink and yellow frame your view of the lake in every direction with ducks and paddle boats providing that Read More
Always on the lookout for unique things to do in Los Angeles, I jumped at the chance to attend an afternoon at the Greystone Mansion's Concours d'Elegance. I'm not specifically a car person, but the stunning colors and curves of the collection showcased this year got me very excited. Weird, I know. Located at the Greystone Estate in Beverly Hills, the annual Concours d'Elegance continues to be one of the most exclusive Read More
I recently did a road trip along the California coast and I thought others might benefit from my legwork to find the best places to spot wild sea otters. California sea otters nearly went extinct in the early 1900's due to hunters wanting their soft fur, and later the animal officially became an endangered species. Their numbers are very slowly improving now with about 2,700 known to exist in California. These are the Read More
Camera: Sony NEX-3N Iso: 200 Focal Length: 28mm Aperture: f/6 Exposure Time: 1/20 On the route between Los Angeles and Lake Arrowhead, along the CA-18 Highway, you'll have several chances to soak up the sweeping vistas of San Bernardino National Forest. As I watched the fiery sun fall below the horizon, "blue hour" lasted no more than five minutes, casting a moody blue light over the mountains. It was an appropriate end Read More
The coastal California getaway known as Crystal Cove is about as hidden as it gets; driving along the Pacific Coast Highway you would never know what awaits below unless you've been there. Each year, over 25,000 visitors stay here in California's last surviving historic beach community which flourished from 1935 to 1955. It is an excellent spot for families exploring the tide pools, cocktails with friends, passing through on a Read More
